Recently on Twitter there has been a library challenge: 7 black & white photographs of #librarylife, no humans, no explanations. We (@TCDResearchColl – are you following us?) were challenged originally by the Royal Irish Academy Library (@Library_RIA) and subsequently by Waterford Institute of Technology Libraries (@witlibraries). We thought our blog followers might like to see the photographs we posted, perhaps with explanations this time, although most of them speak for themselves. Continue reading “Library life in black and white”
Preservation book repairs – carrying out in-situ treatments in the Long Room
By Sarah Timmins, Preservation Assistant
Introduction
As Preservation Assistants, we help address some of the challenges and problems affecting the books of the Long Room in the Old Library. The collection of some 220,000 Early Printed Books range from the dawn of the printing press in the 1450s and incunabula, to the end of the Victorian era. A systematic preservation project, beginning in 2004 as ‘Save the Treasures’, is ongoing today. The focus of the project is on the cleaning of the books, and the recording of data for use by the Preservation & Conservation Department. We note key information about each book: where and when it was printed, the materials from which it is made, features of the bindings, and so on. We also carry out a condition report, and note any stabilising treatments we carry out in situ. Continue reading “Preservation book repairs – carrying out in-situ treatments in the Long Room”